In late July, I got an e-mail from Radioinsight ratings tracker Chris Huff after the UK’s RAJAR ratings were released: “Capital up 3.4-4.2 (best share since Q2/2019) and BBC Radio 1 up 3.5-4.0 (best since Q4/2021). CHR rebound? Taylor Swift kiss? Or both.”
Last week, there was another e-mail from Huff, this one sharing the news from the UK’s RadioToday that Bauer’s national CHR network, Hits Radio, would be getting a London FM frequency, sending longtime rhythmic CHR Kiss to DAB.
Capital owner Global and Kiss owner Bauer have been using their stations to jostle each other for years. In the late ’90s, Global’s Hot AC Heart FM was heavily rhythmic, seemingly to protect Capital from Kiss. At that time, Bauer’s newly assembled national Hits network was contrarian for its throwback and pop components. That now places it squarely between Capital and a more pop-leaning Heart.
In recent years, British CHR has sounded consistently better to me than its American counterpart, particularly because of its greater dance-music component and thus better energy level. Unlike in many U.S. markets, CHR did sound better than its numbers here. But London is still a heavily fragmented market, such that having the existing CHRs in the 4-share range is a rebound.
I took a Fresh Listen to Capital and Greatest Hits. I listened to Radio 1, even though it also got a Fresh Listen (as part of an article on several BBC stations) in April. If the numbers here reflect the excitement over Swift being in the market this week, it’s worth noting that there’s a DAB side channel called “Capital (Taylor’s Version).” I didn’t do a full listen to that one, but its last four played were “Lavender Haze,” “Enchanted,” “Cruel Summer,” and “The Lakes.”
Here’s the main Capital London just before 4 p.m., August 7 with Will Manning:
- David Guetta, Becky Hill & Ella Henderson, “Crazy What Love Can Do”
- Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”
- Tom Grennan, “Remind Me”
- Perrie, “Forget About Us”
- Kid Laroi, “Girls”
- Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
- Hailee Steinfeld, “Starving”
- Rudimental, “Bring Me Joy”
- Lady Gaga & Beyoncé, “Telephone”
- Becky Hill, “Outside of Love”
- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, “Senorita”
- Post Malone & Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”
- Timbaland, “The Way I Are”
- Teddy Swims, “The Door”
- Calvin Harris x Rag ’n’ Bone Man, “Lovers in a Past Life”
- Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” — a rollover sweeper had three voices each instructing a speaker to “play Capital,” timing out perfectly just before the intro’s declaration of “another banger.”
Hits Radio was promoting the opening of Borderlands with a contest variant on the backwards or sped-up mystery song: in this case, a distorted song described as the remix that would have been heard on the movie’s Planet Pandora. (The contestant easily guessed that it was Craig David’s “Fill Me In.”) Here’s Hits, positioned as “the biggest hits, the biggest throwbacks,” as heard on its London DAB feed with Tom Greer at 11 a.m., August 9:
- Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”
- Mark Ronson f/Amy Winehouse, “Valerie”
- Lost Frequencies f/Colum Scott, “Where Are You Now”
- Rita Ora, “Ask and You Shall Receive”
- ‘N Sync, “Bye Bye Bye” — the throwback stager is based on UK hit “Sing It Back” by Moloko
- Cian Ducrot, “I’ll Be Waiting”
- Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”
- Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You”
- Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, “Free”
- Jay-Z f/Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
- Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
- Becky Hill & David Guetta, “Remember”
- Perrie, “Forget About Us”
Radio 1’s Matt Edmonson was solo when heard here. Partner Mollie King had just announced her pregnancy — after several months of swearing him to secrecy. I’ve come back to Radio 1 a few times in recent years both because of its new music and variety component (see Glass Animals to Drake to Clairo below). Here’s the station at 1 p.m., August 12:
- Coldplay, “Feels Like I’m Falling in Love”
- Little Sims, “Gorilla”
- METTE, “Bet”
- Glass Animals, “A Tear in Space (Airlock)”
- Drake f/Lil Durk, “Laugh Now, Cry Later”
- Clairo, “Sexy to Someone”
- Yungblud, “Hope for the Underrated Youth”
- Rudimental & Karen Harding, “Bring Me Joy” — followed by a two-minute newscast; there had also been an Olympics vignette earlier that hour
- Jamie xx & Robyn, “Life”
- Ice Spice & Central Cee, “Did It First”
- Wolf Alice, “Don’t Delete the Kisses”
- Jungle, “Back on ’74”
- Mabel, “Don’t Call Me Up”
- Gracie Abrams, “Close to You” — a contestant for the “Five to Two” contest (at 1:55 p.m.) successfully named five vegetables, four smelly things, three planets, two synonyms for dancing, and got to make one request.
- Joel Corry & Tom Grennan, “Lionheart (Fearless)”
- Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”
- Tyler the Creator f/Kali Uchis, “See You Again”
